Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Pink pleasures.

This post is too late for Valentine's Day, but oh well! Every day is a good day for pink things. I feel ridiculous in pink, but that doesn't mean the color doesn't give me a bit of a thrill. Ever since I was a kid playing with that bright fuchsia Play-Doh, I've wanted to smear pink stuff all over my face or eat it. Or both!

I bought this rose and chamomile facial scrub from Marble & Milkweed a few days ago and it is glorious. The smell is herbal and floral in a subtle, natural way. It makes me feel like a medieval lady at my toilette (especially since lately I've been listening to troubadour music by Giraut de Bornelh and reading a biography of Isabella of France). Anything that makes me feel like a medieval lady is a plus! And I can't stop touching my face because it feels so soft. It exfoliated but in a gentle and moisturizing way.

I have a confession: I'm a tiny bit obsessed with exfoliation. In high school, I used to put tape all over my face and do it that way. Don't try it! It's terrible for your skin. I also used that apricot scrub with really rough grains in it almost daily. Again, terrible! I'm surprised my face is not falling apart from all the abuse.

Now for the part about eating pink stuff. Rob and I made beet and orange ice cream!

So delightful. The color makes me happy just looking at it! And the flavor doesn't disappoint. It's sweet in an earthy way with a slightly citrus peel tang aftertaste. I can't think of a more suitable ice cream for right now, when winter is in its last stages and root vegetables are the main staple but spring is just around the corner waiting to burst into color.

We adapted this recipe because we didn't have some of the ingredients. Our version turned out wonderfully!

2 cups milk

4 tsp. tapioca starch

1 1/4 cup cream

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of sea salt

zest from 2 oranges

2 beets, sliced in thick rounds and roasted

Mix 1/4 cup of milk and tapioca starch together in a bowl and set aside. Mix together the rest of the milk, cream, sugar and salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Add orange zest and milk/tapioca mixture. Cook until slightly thickened (about 5-7 minutes).

Puree the beets in a blender. We had to add a bit of the milk/cream mixture to the beets to get it smoothly pureed. Once the beets are smooth, add the rest of the milk/cream mixture and blend until combined and bright pink!

Pour everything into a large mixing bowl and chill. You can stick it in the fridge. We made an ice bath in the sink and submerged the bowl in the cold water for about an hour.

Churn with an ice cream maker until the consistency is thick and creamy like this:

Wow! This ice cream looks so beautiful! Someone told me cooking beets in orange juice was good. I haven't tried it since I wasn't sure of the combination but your ice cream made me very much interested in Beet & Orange combo!